One Night on the French Riviera by Ella Hayes

Author:Ella Hayes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-07-14T11:05:47+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

SHE FELT HER breath catching, then a fizzing rush of delight. Pink umbrellas! As far as the eye could see. Rows and rows of them, suspended above the street, dancing on wires, throwing fat polka-dot shadows onto the ground, filling every window with bobbing pink reflections.

She looked at Alden. His sunglasses were glinting pink too, but his smile was white, and as wide and electric as ever.

‘I was not expecting this.’ He was shaking his head. ‘It’s like bunting on speed...’

She felt a second rush. Happiness this time. Because they were together, having fun, which was exactly what he’d promised.

They’d left Franc’s an hour ago, taking it in turns to choose roads on the basis of pure whim: follow that car, that dog, that cyclist! And now they were here, in a little town called Grasse, hungry and on the hunt for a nice little bistro. But the streets were so narrow that it had felt wise to park the car and walk.

Up a steep, cobbled street with the sun beating down, following the Centre Ville sign, and then they’d turned the corner into this sweet surprise.

She pulled out her phone, took a shot. ‘It’s so pretty.’

‘Yeah. But I’m not seeing any bistros.’

He was right. The establishments on both sides were shops, mundane ones at that: an ironmonger, a pharmacy, a travel shop. A branch of Crédit Agricole.

‘Let’s go.’ He was beckoning her on. ‘We need to find the chintzy square where the restaurants are before we starve to death.’

She fell in beside him, holding in a smile. Alden was nearly always hungry. Full of nervous energy, burning it up, running hot. Like in the woods at Franc’s, visibly pent up because of the kiss, but blocked for some reason, so that she’d had to raise it, shake it out of him. And it was exactly as she’d thought: a kiss to fit the moment, a show-kiss for the crowd...

She felt a tingle. Except... There hadn’t actually been a crowd, had there? Couldn’t have been because hadn’t she watched him walk away, going through the door after everyone else?

Her heart pulsed. So what did that mean?

What do you want it to mean?

She flicked him a glance.

Strolling along, sunglasses glinting. That gorgeous thatch of hair, that lovely mouth framing a hint of smile, enough to put happy little dents in his cheeks.

She felt a tug inside, the old confusion stirring. Oh, God... That light in his eyes afterwards, that smile... Was there any possibility that the kiss had been real? Had he kissed her because he wanted to? Was that why he’d been so unforthcoming in the woods, not getting to his explanation straight away because he was all at sea, unsure of what to say, of what she might say...?

If only the kiss had lasted a bit longer, she could have taken the measure of it, better discerned the intention behind it.

Or was she just looking, hoping, for intention because every moment they were together felt better than the

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.